


Rule of Three

by spiderlillium



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Parents, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-07-12
Packaged: 2018-02-06 01:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1839073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiderlillium/pseuds/spiderlillium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In all of Levi's life, he had never dreamed of having children.</p><p>And yet, he finds himself in the company of one.</p><p>| Hospital!AU / Parent!AU |</p><p>DISCONTINUED.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pedophilia

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this while studying for my licensure exams. God help me.

In all of Levi's life, he had never dreamed of having children.

Children are the robbers of youth, of freedom, of the things you take delight in, like Friday nights and cozy, rainy days. Children are not bundles of sunshine like everyone says they are. Temperamental, grumpy, unpredictable; they are blind in the face of danger and misfortune, and wide-eyed in front of everything that moved. They cry too much, laugh too much,  _live_  too much -- the meaning of time is lost in their smiles.

And yet, Levi finds himself in the company of one.

It was not intentional. Mikasa shouldn't even be sitting at the backseat of his car. There shouldn't even be a little girl named 'Mikasa' in the first place; black hair and gray, almond eyes with the surname 'Ackerman' stuck to the first. Mikasa should be no one.

And yet, there she is.

Mikasa wasn't made out of love, that, Levi knows. Mikasa was made with an egg cell and one, tiny sperm wiggling about and was lucky enough to fertilize the egg before any other sperm could. Then there was meiosis. Then, replication: over, and over, and over and over again -- and then there were a ton of other shit that differentiated the cells and nurtured it and that is what made her. She was a product of gene expression. Levi knows this because that's what his biology teacher taught him in high school. Levi knows this well because he had been taught about it more extensively in college and then, in medical school, among other things.

What they failed to teach, however, was how to deal when this clump of cells and growth factors and other complicated substances comes out of it's mother's womb and cries when the doctor slaps its red little bum.

"Papa." Little, quiet. Shy, even. Levi had to crane his neck to look at her, to confirm the girl had spoken, and she did. Mikasa was looking at him, thin, pink lips pursed in worry or confusion or even fear. He couldn't really tell. Levi was bullshit at telling how grown-ups felt in general -- what more of a child?

"Yeah?" He could not look at her for long. The last thing he wanted was to crash his car into another and kill them both. "What's wrong?"

Mikasa bit her lower lip and chewed at it. Levi waited, hands becoming sweaty against the steering wheel.

Five minutes later, there was no answer. Not even one word.

"Mikasa," Levi was the one chewing at his bottom lip now. "What is it?"

The little girl jumped a little when he spoke. Then, she shook her head, eyes looking else where as she bumped her feet together, her tiny boots thumping against each other.

And that was how the ride went: Mikasa with the rhythmic tapping of her boots and Levi wiping his hands on his jeans every few minutes, his eyes on the road. Luckily, their trip wasn't very far. In half an hour they already arrived at their destination, Levi's Tacoma parked at the side of the road, just near a crooked tree.

Once the engines died down, Levi promptly got out of his seat and went over to Mikasa's side, unbuckling her seat belt. He hadn't bought one of those seats with the extra buckles for children -- he didn't even  _know_  what to call it, damn it all. To be fair, there was never really a need to buy one in the first place.

"Alright, come on, kid." When the seat belt was undone, Levi lifted Mikasa up and off the cushion, and brought her down on the cobbled street. Next was the bag he had placed beside her. Once his Tacoma was secured, he slung the hiking bag on to his shoulders and took Mikasa's hand, making sure to make smaller steps so his daughter wouldn't have to struggle to keep up with his pace.

The warmth on his right hand was foreign. Mikasa was small, barely five years old. Levi remembers her vividly when she was much smaller; when she was just a babe, all pink and crying in her mother's arms. He remembers her when she was just a few pounds worth of flesh and her fingers were so thin and nimble he thought he'd break her when he tried to pry her hands away when she grabbed at his hair.

"Watch your step," He reminds her suddenly, and as if on cue, the girl stumbles against the steps leading to their new apartment building. Levi grabbed her hand tighter and caught her just in time, helping her adjust to stand and walk again. God. Why do children have so much uncoordinated muscles?

"Did you hurt yourself?" Mikasa replies with a quick shake of the head and continues staring on the ground. Sometimes Levi finds himself wanting to ask the girl to look at him, but then again, he wasn't exactly  _worth_  looking at. He was a shitty father. A very, very shitty father, just like his father was to him.

It was Christmas, when Mikasa was just a few months old, when he and Suzie decided to split. Clearly, they were not made to be with each other with a kid around. Maybe they had been wrong about marrying each other in the first place -- but ah, isn't that what youth is? Its all bad decisions and regrets and pregnancies when you're deep in love.

Naturally, the child fell into the mother's custody. That made Levi feel relieved -- he knew he'd be an awful father. He already was an awful husband, but that didn't mean Suzie didn't have her faults. Mikasa being with her mother felt right. It was instinctive, like an unspoken rule. So he didn't raise any objections about it; gone with the flow of the law.

He did visit her, many times. Each visit came longer than the last, and then, he just stopped doing it altogether. This girl didn't deserve to know a father like him. He didn't even want her in the first place. She deserved better. She deserved to have happy memories. Levi didn't want to create heartache when she grew up, because their set up, from the very day she was born, was pretty fucked up to begin with. So Levi stopped. Mikasa would grow up knowing no biological father. She'll grow up fine.

But then, Suzie decided to turn the world upside-down.

Suzuran -- or Suzie, as most called her, wasn't a very patient woman. In a lot of ways, she and Levi were alike, and sometimes Levi thinks that's probably one of the reasons why their relationship ended up with a divorce.

One call, past midnight. The ER was empty in St. Rose Hospital save from a few drunks who took a wrong step and stumbled down the road, breaking their noses, and giving themselves a concussion or two in the process. Levi was just outside, almost wanting to shout and punch his ex-wife through the phone when she told him she couldn't take care of their daughter anymore.

(Children are the robbers of freedom. How can they stay when both of them have wings?)

Suzie had suggested they send their daughter to an orphanage of sorts; call social services. It took Levi all his will not to throw his phone into the ground and stomp it dead altogether.

Levi was a shitty father, but he wasn't cruel.

"Wait a bit," Fumbling in his coat pocket, Levi finally managed to take his key out, the metal oddly heavy in his fingers. Pushing it past the hole, he twisted it, and upon hearing a click, he pushed the large, metal door open so they could come in the apartment.

Their new home was owned by a man named Robert Sina. Obviously enough, the apartment itself was called, simply, 'Sina'. Levi had to hold back on making a sarcastic comment when he paid for a unit, but other than the shitty name, the place was wonderful.

It had a homey feeling to it. Apartment Sina is a six-story building with twelve units inside; two at every floor. Outside it was painted a lighter shade of brown, like well creamed coffee, and its windows and edges are accented with black. The front door is nothing but metal work, strong and massive compared to any other door in their street. At its center is a great, big 'S' inside a circle, the writing curvy and the background a chaotic weave of twisted metals. To its left, there's the mailboxes with their corresponding number and buzzer atop of it, all of it black as well.  
Once past the heavy door, the floor changes to tiles; small, brown, like wood. The walls are in a lighter shade of coffee compared to the one outside, and right in the middle of it is an old fashioned lift, complete with the screen door with the criss-cross metal work. To its right, is of course, the stairs, the railing painted black.

Levi was about to ask Mikasa if she wanted to take either the stairs or the lift when he saw her almost ogling at the elevator. Ah. There's the answer.

"Come on." He tugged at her hand and took her to the lift, pushing the screen aside and the metal door before walking in and securing it once more. He pushed the button with the number '4' and immediately, the lift began moving. Mikasa was so busy and engrossed at staring at every nook and cranny of the odd machine up to the moment they reached their floor, that Levi had to carry her out of it since she was not responding to his calls.

402\. That was them. Levi had to fish out his keys from his pocket again, now with more difficulty since he's carrying Mikasa (who was still staring at the elevator) but he manages. The door creaks when he pushes it open, and he lets his daughter down once they're inside.

What welcomes them is a hallway, with a large, wide window at the end, the bottom cradling a cushion; a perfect spot for reading. The whole place was flooded with light, cream walls reflecting it well. It still had that warm feeling to it, like it made you want to curl up in bed and sleep all day. Levi had only finished moving all of their things last week, and did not have the time to arrange them in place -- but that's what today is for.

"Alright," Levi sighed, setting his bag on one side, removing his jacket next before hanging it on the wooden rack attached to the wall to his left. He placed his shoes on the rack next, arranging them neatly, side by side. "I'm going to tidy this place up. Mikasa, I'm going to leave you in the living room. You can watch T.V, if you like. How does that sound?"

The little girl by his side was looking around, wide-eyed at everything. She fidgeted, boots rubbing against each other before she returned her gaze down, still unable to look at Levi in the eye. "Papa..."

"Yeah?" Levi knelt down, reaching out to brush his daughter's hair. Maybe he'll have it cut short from now on. He won't have time to maintain her hair as soft and as shiny.

"Where's..." Mikasa squirmed, now chewing at her lip. Levi had to lean his head a little closer to hear her better. "Where's... Where's --" Rubbing her knees together, the girl cleared her throat, "Where's the toilet?"

Oh.

_Oh_.

"Is  _that_  what you were going to tell me back in the car?" Levi honestly wanted to bang his face to the nearest wall. Children are idiots. "Next time, Mikasa, tell me what you need, okay? You don't have to hold back. I won't get mad at you." Tugging at his daughter's little jacket, Levi slipped it off her shoulders and helped her off her boots. Once he had hung it and tucked the shoes in its own rack, he took her hand, and led her to the bathroom.

The bathroom was to their right, just a few steps from the front door. Levi grabbed the knob and turned it, pushing it open for her.

"Don't forget to wash your hands after you finish." To this, Mikasa nodded and stepped into the bathroom, before closing the door behind her with a soft click.

Levi sighed again, for the nth time today, forehead thumping against the door. Closing his eyes for a bit, he took a few deep breaths, trying to ease out his own tension. It wasn't even past nine but he feels like laying down and sleeping.

Knock, knock,  _knock_.

His attention shifts from rest to the door. Ah.  _She's_  here.

"Hello, handsome!" That was the first thing he heard when he opened the door. Hange winked at him and took a sip of the iced coffee in her hand, and on her side, Eren laughed, both of the boy's hands occupied by a large serving of chocolate frappe.

" _Really_." Levi rolled his eyes at her, and Hange laughed again.

"Oi, aren't you gonna invite us in?" The brunette chided and lifted her left hand up, showing that she was carrying two drinks -- another large serving of chocolate frappe with the name 'Mikasa' scribbled on it and a white cup with the name 'Levi' scrawled messily. "I bought refreshments."

Levi shook his head and Hange laughed once more, stepping past him when he opened the door wider for the two to enter. When he had locked the door behind them, Hange was looking around, lips still on the straw, sucking in the cold coffee, swallowing it thickly.

"Where's Mikasa?" And as if on cue, the door of the bathroom opened, the little girl peeking to see who the intruders were.

"Oh, there you are!" Zoe grinned widely and scooted over to her, placing the two drinks on down on the wooden floor. "Hey there, princess. How're you doing?"

For the first time in that day, Levi saw Mikasa smile.

"M'fine," Mikasa answered quietly, and Eren, almost immediately, skipped to where she is and greeted her with an over-enthusiastic 'hello'.

"Was Daddy mean to you?" Hange asked her with a smile, pinching the girl's cheek softly. Levi wanted to throw Mikasa's boots on the woman's head, but debated against it.

"N-No," Mikasa shook her head quickly, her cheeks burning. "Papa is good."

"Good job, Poppa!" Hange exclaimed afterwards, looking back at Levi with her thumbs up. By this time, Levi was ready to haul the entire shoe rack on her head.

"Oh,  _oh_! I have something for you darling girl," Turning back at the younger Ackerman, Hange pulled out the chocolate frappe from the container sleeves and handed it to her. "I didn't know your favorite flavor, so I just got you chocolate. I hope you like it!"

Mikasa blinks at the drink, small hands gripping the sides with nothing but awe. Hange did order the largest size available, and from what looked like it, the girl never had something this much to drink.

"I got chocolate too!" Eren shouts out to tear Mikasa's attention from her large drink. "You'll like it, its good!"

Mikasa just looks at Eren simply, and then she smiles, nodding.

"I also got Poppa something to drink!" The brunette spins on her heels and grabs the tall, white coffee cup and moved over to Levi, who was positively looking murderous by now. "Here you go mate, a nice cup of Earl Grey, icky and unpleasant, just like you!"

"You motherfu--"

Before Levi could continue, Eren gasps rather dramatically, and points his finger at Levi.

"-- Uncle Levi's gon' say a bad word!"

"--fudger. I was gonna say  _motherfudger_." Eren narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him, plump lower lip jutting out as he frowned.

Hange was close to busting a vein, all red-faced and snorting. "Its okay honey, Uncle's not gonna say any bad words. Oh -- why don't you and Mikasa explore the place? Yeah? Auntie's hidden a stuffed toy in here -- if you can find it, we'll have fried chicken for lunch!"

It was incredible. Eren completely forgot about Levi's attempt at cursing and grabbed Mikasa's hand and muttered something along the lines of 'let's find it!' and 'fried chicken's delicious!' among other things, before bolting around the entire apartment in search of the said toy.

"You hid a stuffed toy in here? Since when?" Levi quirked an eyebrow at his friend.

"I didn't, I lied," Hange laughed now, the corners of her eyes wrinkling, "But really, Levi, 'motherfudger'? Fuck, man!"

"Would you shut up?" Levi elbowed her, only causing the bespectacled woman to laugh more -- he had almost forgotten Hange was ticklish on her sides. "Zoe,  _stop_. Hey!"

"Okay, okay! M'sorry, okay..." After a few more chuckles, Hange rubbed the spot where the man had elbowed her and grinned. Levi felt grinning as well, but that's just Zoe's charm working on him.

Zoe is that type of person. She's the sort who can light up a room by just words, or make children smile with her own. She's warm and vibrant and explosive -- everything Levi is not, and sometimes, he thinks, this is why their friendship lasted from grade school well into adulthood.

"I still have some things to sort out back in my old place," She explained once she had handed Levi the warm cup of tea, "So I'm afraid I have to leave Eren in your care for a few hours at most. Is that okay?"

Hange had never married, or remotely had children, like him. Instead, she had adopted her nephew, Eren Jaeger, when the boy's parents died in a car crash when he was two. And she's the perfect parent; Eren had practically loved and trusted her from day one, and had happily lived with her since then.

"What?" Levi ogled at her, looking at Hange like she just had confessed about killing someone in cold blood. "Fuck no."

"Its just for a few hours," She pleaded, "Come on, Levi. I'll be back before lunch -- heck, I'll buy us lunch.  _Please_?"

"You  _don't_  understand," Levi almost hissed, fingers grasping the cup tighter. "I'm flipping my shit with just Mikasa around. Do you know how frisky your fucking nephew is? Have you been actually paying attention to that kid? He's fucking hyper!"

"Keep your voice down," Hange half-whispered, half-shouted, before grabbing him by the arm and pulling him into the kitchen, after she had glanced around and deduced the kids were busy running around the living room. "Look, Levi. I know Eren can be a handful, but he's sweet, and he likes you. He'll listen to you if you plead with him well enough--"

" _Plead_? Oh my god--"

"Oh don't be so dramatic!" She snapped and kept her mouth shut when the pair ran along the hall and into the bathroom. "Nothing's gonna go wrong. They'll probably just play and talk and run around the apartment. You don't have to watch over them every second -- they'll probably tire themselves out anyway and sleep on your couch."

Levi groaned. "Hange, I can't--"

"You  _can_  do this." She assured him, but Levi felt none the least assured. "You'll manage. Its just a few hours, and then, I'll be back. You won't even notice it. Okay?"

"Auntie!"

Both adults turned to look. Eren and Mikasa was standing in the doorway leading into the kitchen.

"Yes, sweetie?" Hange smiles easily, turning away from her best friend.

"We can't find the toy you hid." He said in a disappointed tone, fidgeting, like he had done something wrong.

"Oh, that's okay," Hange almost glides to her nephew and kisses him on the cheek. "That's okay, we'll find it later, together. But before that, you have to be a good boy, alright? We'll eat fried chicken for lunch later if you're good." Eren's reply to this is a cheery 'yay' and a large smile, promising that he'd indeed behave, just like his aunt told him to.

Hange then sent Levi a brief look. Levi narrowed his eyes at her.

"Honey, I have to go for a few minutes. Auntie has some things she needs to do, so I'm gonna leave you here in Uncle's apartment, okay? I'll be back for lunchtime so till then, don't cause any trouble! Promise?" 

"Promise!" Eren smiles just as bright and nods once more.

"Wonderful!" Zoe returns the smile and kisses Eren on the cheek again. "And you, princess," She turns to Mikasa, and the girl instantly blushes at the sudden attention, "I know you're a good girl... Take care of Papa, okay? Make sure he doesn't do stupid things." She laughs, and peppers Mikasa's forehead with kisses.

"Hange, I don't think this is a good idea," Levi blurts out when his friend had already pulled away from the kids and had occupied her lips instead with the straw of her iced coffee.

"You'll be fine," The brunette mouthed at him and patted the children on the heads and headed to the door.

"I  _won't_  be fine," Levi followed suit, grabbing Hange by the elbow to stop her from opening the door.

"Just relax, Levi, you've handled worse situations than this. You've had your share of clumsy kids in the ER, haven't you? Well, you survived that." Hange pried off his fingers and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"You know why I didn't go into pediatrics? Because I'm  _not_  good with children." He lowered his voice when the kids followed them to the door. "Hange. I swear to god --"

"You will do this, and you can. Have a little faith in yourself." The brunette moved to open the door, and waved at the kids, smiling. "If you can save a life, you can take care of two five year olds."

And with that, the woman left, her steps echoing in the building, slowly fading out before a quick thump of the main door, signalling that Hange had indeed left.

This is it.

It was the end of the world.

"Uncle?" Eren finally called out when Levi had closed the door after a long bout of silence. "Are you okay?"

" _No_." Levi nearly snapped, turning back to the two youngsters. "And remove your shoes -- you've scattered dirt well enough all over the place."

Eren looked like he was close to crying, but he removed his shoes nonetheless.

"Look here, you two," When he had tucked the boy's shoes in the rack, he stooped down to their level, sighing as he gazed at them, "I have three rules. One: you don't make a mess. Two: you stay out of my way. Three: don't touch anything that's in the boxes. Got that?"

Both of the youngsters nodded, too scared to say anything against Levi's words.

"Good. Now get in there." Levi pointed toward the living room, and in an instant, Eren and Mikasa scrambled in, standing awkwardly by the couch where they left their frappes at. Levi was thankful he decided to set up the T.V a week ago, because if he hadn't, he wouldn't have anything to distract the two.

"Remember my rules, okay?" He had left them with some cartoon show on, and received no complains in the end, just a few shuffling, probably made by the two when they got on the couch. Levi fell back into the kitchen, his head starting to pound again, hands rubbing against his face.

Right, then.

 

~

 

  
Three hours later, Levi had managed to clean the entire hallway, the bathroom, the kitchen and dining room, and both his room and Mikasa's (he'd left the living room for now since he didn't want to deal with the children). The study, which was on the left, closest to the door, was left untouched -- he'd unpack all his books in another day. The worst always came first: that was the rule he followed, even in treating patients, and in this case, the state of cleanliness of his new home was one on the top of the list.

The bulk of their things was in the living room. He had specifically arranged them for unpacking, left them lined up at the corner so the boxes wouldn't get in the way of his cleaning. All other furniture, except the dining table, had been dumped in a spare bedroom, just beside Mikasa's, and adjacent to his.

11:03 A.M. Levi stared at his watch for a few seconds, feeling his stomach rumble softly. He wondered if Hange would really return at lunch, and felt a brief sense of panic when the thought of taking out the kids to lunch crossed his mind. Nah. She would never lie to him. Never. 

Would she?

"Mikasa, Eren?" He entered the living room with a quick few steps, meaning to ask the kids if they're hungry. He hadn't set up the fridge yet, and even if he did, the whole thing would be empty anyway. He haven't even shopped for groceries. Damn. That slipped from his mind.

"Mikasa?" The T.V was still on, airing a cartoon about a cat and a mouse. Sounds of the main theme filled the air, the feline eagerly chasing the little mouse through hell and back in slapstick comedy form. Levi did not have the time or gall to pay attention to it.

They were not there.

The frappe cups: one half empty, the other, a quarter full; sat side by side on the wooden floor, water droplets pooled around it when the cold had long dissipated from the drink. The couch was empty, seemingly untouched.

"Eren?"

Levi swept his vision from side to side, viewing the entire living room. What he found was just a sea of boxes, a gray couch, an L.E.D T.V airing Tom and Jerry, and two unfinished drinks.

No children.

"Mikasa! Eren!" Levi tried again. He strode out of the living room, blood pressure rising. "If you little shi-- you two are hiding, well, I'm not playing around, okay? Come out!"

By now, the opening theme of the cartoon had ended. The show had begun.

There was no response.

Levi took a deep breath, and tried the bathroom.

Nothing.

The study.

Nothing.

The kitchen, the dining room -- 

Nothing.

The master's bedroom, and the bathroom in it; Mikasa's bedroom, the spare room --

Nothing.

(Levi's head was spinning.)

"Mikasa?" He had just taken her in a week ago. A week, and the girl had barely talked to him. His daughter. A girl with half of his DNA.  _Missing_.

"Eren?" He had never returned all of his smiles. Never even tried to be nice. He was his best friend's nephew. A boy with teal eyes that brightened at the sight of him.  _Missing_.

For the first time in a long time, Levi felt fear.

"Okay," He ran his hand against his mouth, easing out his quickened breaths. " _Alright_." Pacing along the hallway, he bit his lip, thinking of his options.

Call the police. Search the apartment again. Call Hange. 

What was he going to say? Guilt throbbed hard against this chest, almost knocking him out of breath. What kind of friend was he? What kind of  _parent_  lets his own kid get missing under his watch?

Then, he sees it.

The shoe rack; empty, save from his own shoes. The door; slightly open.

Levi almost chokes on his own spit when he hurries down the hall, grabbing his keys from his coat, putting on his shoes in a flurry, before locking the door behind him.

He jogs down the steps as quick as he can, calling out Mikasa and Eren's name. He repeats it like a mantra, even when he exits the building.

"Have you seen a little girl and a boy, about five years old -- uh, black hair, the other brown--"

But the strangers don't care. They shake their heads, giving him worried glances and apologies. Outside its bright and hot, the trees lining the pavement swaying against the dry breeze in a soft whisper. Cars drove by time after time (what if they got run over?), tires crunching as they rolled along the asphalt. Across the apartment there's a small cafe, and Levi recognizes the logo -- the same logo on those frappe cups. There are children playing to his left, all red-heads, freckled cheeks pink from the heat and from their own happiness while they jumped along their rope, chanting out a song. After a few minutes a woman, plump and freckled, came shouting from a window above, calling out on the children to come back home for lunch.

To Levi, it was all white noise.

The world is ending again, for the second time.

"Mister," One of the flame-haired girls, almost as tall as him, tapped him on the shoulder. She was a lanky sort of girl, her hair tied in two long braids, face and arms studded with brown spots everywhere. "I heard... Uh, you're lookin' fer a girl and a boy? The girl in a floral dress, the boy wearing a green shirt?"

"Yes," Levi's voice cracked, dumbfounded for a second, like he had seen an angel. Perhaps this lanky redhead is  _indeed_  an angel. "Yes -- yeah, that's the one!"

"Saw them earlier. I think they were headed to the playground behind Sina." She pointed with her thumb, but Levi was already running to it before she could add anything else.

Relief washed over him as fast as it came out again of his system.

Indeed, Eren and Mikasa was there. The play ground had a swingset and a meter or two of multi-colored monkey bars attached to it. A slide was situated on their right, with a small sandbox right next to it.

There was also two other children on site. They were blond girls, one with a bob cut, the other, long haired.

But that wasn't the one that took his relief away so suddenly. 

It was the man who was kneeling in front of Mikasa.

His daughter was sitting on the swingset. Eren was on her side, peering curiously between Mikasa and the broad-chested man. Both the blond haired girls was on the man's right side, attention also at Mikasa -- or the man -- he couldn't really tell from his distance, since the stranger seemed to be doing something to his daughter. He was unable to identify what, since the man was blocking his view.

Levi didn't need to know why. 

"Hey," In a split second, all their eyes were on him. Eren became wide-eyed, mouth opening, as if to say something. The blond girls -- who Levi later identified as twins, also looked at him with curiosity. Mikasa looked shocked when she saw him, her leg atop the man's knee, the man's hand on Mikasa's leg, holding it in place.

Levi lost it at that.

There were no questions asked, no thoughts made. 

Levi punched the stranger square on the face.

" _Daddy_!" One of the blond haired girls wailed out, the one with the shorter hair. Her sister simply stared in horror when the larger man slumped face first on the ground with a thud and a groan.

" _What_?" Levi blurted out, right after he had hauled Mikasa and Eren away from the swingset, setting them behind him protectively.

The man, the stranger -- blond also, like the girls on his side, groaned a bit more, before he pushed himself off the ground and into a sitting position. He held his hand on the side where Levi had punched him, and when he pulled away, he saw blood.

"You  _punched_  Daddy!" It was the long haired girl's turn to speak, her tone accusing as she screamed at Levi.

"Its okay, baby girl, Daddy's okay--" The man hurriedly spoke up, but then, his nose started bleeding freely, a single stream of red flowing down a nostril to his chin, making the twins gasp in horror.

Levi dared not to speak again. He had made a mistake.

The world was ending for a third time.


	2. The July Effect

Some people have an amazing ability to be perceptive, and Zoe Hange is one of those people.  
  
Perhaps its just a meticulous habit of observation, or a simple gut feeling that makes the butterflies in your stomach stir. Other times its a little bit of both, and that's what makes it scary - or amazing, however you want to look at it. Everything converges on that single point and you cannot deny it, you cannot look for another conclusion because its _right there_ , its staring right at you, its the truth that makes the mallet strike down to deliver the answer.  
  
Hange narrowed her eyes the slightest bit, ignoring the biting sensation of the twisted paper handle against her fingers. She had bought two buckets of Eren's favorite - one containing only spicy chicken wings and the other, just plain fried ones. She bought another bucket of roasted potato quarters, two large servings of salad, and for dessert, blueberry cheesecake. To be honest, she would have liked to eat lunch by now since its almost one thirty, but she chose to look at Levi a little longer.  
  
"Let me guess..." She began, "Something happened while I was away."  
  
Levi scoffed, opening the door wider for her as he stepped back to let her in. "You won't believe the shit I went through this morning."

  
~

  
  
"You _punched_ a stranger on the face."  
  
"I thought he was a pedophile."  
  
"You punched a stranger on the face, indirectly and wrongly accused him of pedophilia, and you just left him there with a bleeding nose?"  
  
With a sigh, Levi stuffed his mouth full of potatoes and chewed with disdain. Hange stared at him for a while, expecting an answer. "Well? Aren't you gonna tell me why?"  
  
"Why? I just told you _why_!" Levi snapped right after he had swallowed his food.  
  
"I'm asking why you left him." Hange reached for the ketchup and handed it over to Eren when the boy asked - he always likes everything with ketchup. "You probably traumatized his kids to death."  
  
"I was having a bad day. I think I deserved to punch someone on the face and walk out at least once." Levi stabbed his fork irritably into a few greens and poked them around the dressing at the side of his plate, "And mind you, this wouldn't have happened if your clever little nephew didn't take Mikasa out to that fu -- to that stinking playground."  
  
Mikasa stared wide-eyed at her father, while Eren paused midway on taking a bite from a chicken leg, and promptly rested it down on his plate, a smudge of ketchup at the corner of his deepening frown. "Sorry, Uncle..."  
  
Hange turned to the boy and patted him on the back. "Sweetie, why did you do that?"  
  
The brunet fidgeted a bit, looking down with shame. "I just wanted Mikasa to see the playground... And - and Uncle didn't say anything about going out-"  
  
Levi looked thoroughly offended and outraged at the same time. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Okay, _okay_." Hange raised his hand at her friend in attempt to calm him down. "No one's getting angry, no one's blaming anyone. Eren, dear," She glanced back at the brunet, combing his bangs away from his forehead, "You can't do that ever again, do you understand? When you went to the playground last week, I was with you, remember? You can't go off on your own like that. That's dangerous. You could get hurt, and lost. Did you remember what I told you before? Don't talk to strangers."  
  
"But," Bright greenish blue eyes darted from his plate back to his aunt, "But he was helping us," He reasoned truthfully, "He cleaned Mikasa's knee, and, and, he got out a band aid and covered her wouds and-"  
  
"Wounds," Hange corrected, smiling a bit as she pulled her hand away. "Still, love, not everyone is that kind. What if you met someone else? A bad person?"  
  
Eren rocked his legs back and forth and stared back down again. "M'sorry." Zoe just ruffled his hair into a mess and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
"As long as you promise not to do it again, Auntie and Uncle will forgive you." She then gave Levi a meaningful look.  
  
"M'kay, I promise," As soon as he finished speaking, the boy had his usual smile again on his face, and giggled a bit when his aunt gave him another kiss on the cheek. Levi rolled his eyes at the sight, tearing some chicken meat from a wing with considerably more irritation.  
  
Their lunch went on lighter as initially expected. Aside from Levi's perpetual sour mood, Hange had managed to pull the kids' attention away from the incident with a few funny faces and kisses. Once they'd finished, Hange went on and sliced some blueberry cheesecake for them while Levi excused himself from the dining room after a few sips of iced tea. He could only take so much cheer for the day.  
  
And he had so much to do, this afternoon. While his whole unit had been cleaned save from two practically unneeded rooms, he had a lot of shit to unpack. His and Mikasa's bed still needs assembling, their clothes are still in the boxes, and not to mention the various appliances he still had to set up.  
  
Work had to be done, and it had to be done fast.  
  
He assembled the furniture first, starting in his bedroom. He didn't had much, just a bed, a side table with a complimentary lamp, a tall mirror, a cabinet (which he had no problem re-assembling) and a large drawer (which he had trouble pushing past the hall without Eren trying to ride the thing like a cart). Once he had screwed his own T.V on the wall across his bed, he was practically done.  
  
Then, there was Mikasa's room. Hange had tricked him into buying his daughter a four-poster 'princess' bed ("Oh come on, trust me, Mikasa would love it!") which he had trouble assembling because the instructions were in a ridiculously small font. It was white, the headboard ornate and curvy with roses of varying sizes. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling his daughter would bump her head against those a lot in the future.  
  
"Uncle?" Eren suddenly called out from the doorway, peering at him curiously.  
  
"What is it?" Levi absent-mindedly responded, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He had finally managed to assemble the thing after thirty grueling minutes.  
  
"Are you still angry at me?" The boy automatically hid behind the wall when he began speaking, his head poking out so he could look at the older man.  
  
Levi turned to him and stared at him for a good minute. "No," He finally answered, "Why?"  
  
Eren brightened considerably, grinning as he skipped out of his spot and made his way to him. "I wanna help."  
  
Staring down at the child, Levi reached out to ruffle Eren's thick, brown hair. "Why don't you ask your Aunt instead?"  
  
"She's taking out plates and stuff," Eren grinned still, happy that the older male didn't deny him of a bit of affection. "I'm not good with plates."  
  
Then you better not touch anything else, Levi thought, still looking down at the boy. "Go play with Mikasa."  
  
"She's asleep," Eren piped up with a little frown.  
  
"Then sleep, too." Levi insisted, turning the kid around and gently pushing him out of the room. "I don't need help. And I don't want any disturbances."  
  
Eren didn't argue, but he looked disappointed. After nodding, he padded away, disappearing into the hallway.  
  
Levi sank back to the bed, groaning a bit. He still had a study table, a side table and a drawer left to assemble. His arms ached a bit from holding the frame earlier, and his head pounded softly from reading those small lettered instructions. And the heat - God, the fucking heat. July just rolled in, and with it, an annoyingly blistering wave of uncomfortable temperature.  
  
He would have complained a bit more after he turned on the AC and sat on the bed to relax, but he knew he had no time for that. He still had a number of things to do, and he got to do it as soon as possible.  


  
~

  
  
It was well after sunset when they had finally finished. The boxes were emptied save from a few that contained Levi's medical books. Even the refrigerator was on, though was empty, but not for long. After eating their dinner in a small pizzeria that served really delicious pasta, Levi and Zoe, with the kids, of course, headed to the supermarket to stock on some food.  
  
Aside from a ruckus that Eren started when he demanded Hange to buy him some Kitkats, the trip ended quite well. Now with numerous paper bags behind them, Hange bid his friend a good night, carrying her nephew in her arms since the kid fell asleep on the way back.  
  
"Remember, there's a Post-it on your fridge with Mrs. Springer's number. Don't forget to call her for tomorrow." Hange probably reminded him five times throughout the night, but Levi thanked her nonetheless and waved her off to her own place - unit 501 - upstairs.  
  
Now, they were alone again.  
  
"Are you sleepy?" It was past eight when they arrived. Mikasa didn't look tired - well, it was actually hard to tell since she just looked at everything blankly most of the time.  
  
The girl shook her head lightly and tugged on the paper bags to carry them. Levi carried her instead, taking her to the bathroom. His daughter's hair still smelled like that strawberry shampoo he bought for her, but he knew a bath should be in order. "You have to take a bath," He told her once they were inside, settling her by the tub as he reached out for the knobs to fill it with warm water.  
  
Mikasa said nothing, and just nodded.  
  
Levi rolled the edges of his pants to his knees and let the tub fill halfway before turning the faucets off. He readied the soap and shampoo, and a small soft towel for scrubbing. "Come here." He motioned for her, and wordlessly, Mikasa obeyed. Levi lifted her to lean against the tub as he removed her socks, and pulled her away from it when he lifted her dress off of her.  
  
"Don't you like baths?" He asked her suddenly, finding the silence slightly disturbing.  
  
"Mama does it in the morning." She answered quietly, stepping out of her remaining garments before Levi lifted her up into the tub. She sat on the bottom, the warm water pooling around her.  
  
"Do you want to bathe in the mornings?" Levi asked next, reaching out for a water ladle, scooping up a good amount of water before pouring it carefully on Mikasa's head. The girl closed her eyes and held her breath and answered when Levi moved away to pour some shampoo on his palm.  
  
"Its fine," She murmured, closing her eyes again when Levi started massaging the strawberry scented shampoo in her hair, making a bubbly lather. "I don't mind when."  
  
Levi stayed quiet after that, focusing in his task, making sure his daughter was clean before bed. When he was satisfied, he released the plug and let the water drain, reaching out for a towel to wrap around the girl as he lifted her out of the tub. Next, he lead her to the sink and made her sit next to it, one hand reaching for her toothbrush and the other for the toothpaste. After all hygienic rituals were done, he led her back to her room, another dry towel draped on his shoulder as he walked.  
  
Upon entering, Mikasa stared at her new bed for a while, head turning this way and that to examine the large poster bed. Levi was busy rummaging for clothes to notice it, and when he turned back to Mikasa with a cotton nightdress, an underwear and a blower, the girl already had her fill of the new sight.  
  
Once dressed, Levi made Mikasa sit on the bed while he dried her hair, sitting behind her as he moved, combing her hair out with his fingers against the towel he brought to drape around Mikasa's shoulders.  
  
"What do you think of your bed?" He asked after a while.  
  
"Its big," Mikasa answered earnestly. Levi had to snort at that.  
  
"Yeah, it is," He held his daughter's head on one side while he waved the blower around to let the warm air flow along her long hair. "Do you like it?"  
  
Mikasa said nothing in return. Levi feared he had to return his purchase and blame Hange for making him waste time on a bed his kid didn't even like, but when he felt her head leaning more heavily against his hand after a good fifteen minutes, he figured that she had fallen asleep.  
  
He didn't have time to properly untangle her hair with a comb. Levi laid her down gently once her hair was completely dry, pulling the duvet and blanket to her shoulders as she slumbered pressed against her pillow. Once the lamp was on low and the main light turned off, Levi left her in her room and back to the front where he had left all his groceries.  
  
He hadn't even told her he'll be working tomorrow and will be leaving her with a nanny. He hadn't told her many things - or, to be exact, he didn't had the time and the attention to do it. What a wonderful start.  
  
The groceries lay forgotten on his counter for a moment when he finished moving them from the front door. A buzzing was filling the air, and for a few seconds, Levi had to pause to figure out what and where it was.  
  
Then - _there_ , on the dining table. His phone.  
  
Ignored. That was the fate the device endured all day. It spent its time hanging around his coat and then after lunch, on the dining area. Levi did not regret his decision one bit because the moment he scrolled through his inbox-

  
**[Isabel Magnolia]**   
_Ohh, please tell me what you think. And you can tell us tomorrow what happened on your day with her, okay? Good night! - **9:11 P.M, Jul 3**_

_Bro, you gotta tell me some deets. Please? I really want to see Mikasa... I bet she looks a lot like you. - **7:34 P.M, Jul 3**_

_I'm really sorry for spamming your inbox... - **4:29 P.M, Jul 3**_

_Are you angry...? Farlan told me he kinda texted you too... Have we been spamming your inbox? - **2:01 P.M, Jul 3**_

_Bro, have you finished moving? Chief caught me texting. I got yelled at. Well, he's yelling at everyone today... I hope you and Mika are okay! - **1:43 A.M, Jul 3**_

_There's been an accident at King's crossing. The ER is bursting. Are you and Mika doing good? - **8:04 A.M, Jul 3**_

  
**[Farlan Church]**

_I hope you had a good day, Levi. Mikasa too. Good night. - **8:45 P.M, Jul 3**_

_Sorry if I spammed you! - **3:00 P.M, Jul 3**_

_Can you send us a picture of you and Mikasa? Izzy won't shut up about it. I told her to calm down and work instead. - **1:25 P.M, Jul 3**_

_How's the moving going? Chief's busting a vein over here because of the accident at King's crossing. There's so much patients. Chief's shouting at everybody and cursing you for taking a day-off at the wrong time. - **11:48 A.M, Jul 3**_

  
**[Chief Shadis]**

_We've got a new butcher in replacement for old Ralph. Oh, and the killing season starts tomorrow. - **7:52 P.M, Jul 3**_

 

  
The killing season. Levi re-read Keith Shadis' text one more time, processing it for a moment, before muttering profanities in the air.  
  
He really had bad timing when it came to day-offs.

 

~

  
  
Mrs. Springer is a woman in her late thirties that lived five blocks away from them. She's Eren's nanny for 3 years, and now, his daughter's too.  
  
"She doesn't really talk much," He told her by the door as he thumbed over the pager in his pocket. He had only informed Mikasa a few minutes ago that he'd be off to work, leaving her alone with her temporary guardian, and the girl, luckily and surprisingly, silently agreed to it. "And-" Levi stared back at the woman, finding her expression surprisingly soft.  
  
"Don't worry, Zoe told me," She said kindly, nodding. "Its okay, Mr. Ackerman."  
  
Levi almost scoffed, but he didn't want to offend the lady on her first day. "Alright, well," He nodded and tugged on his backpack, "I'll be back around six." To which Mrs. Springer smiled and hummed in response. The woman bid her a good day as Levi jogged down the steps, glancing at his watch to make sure he wasn't running late.  
  
The drive to St. Rose Hospital was shorter as he now lived considerably closer to his work place. It was Hange's idea for them to move together, and had persuaded him along, albeit being stubborn not to. Changes had to be made, she said: lifestyle, choices, everything. He was a father now; a real, actual parent, and even if he had a friend as patient as a saint guiding him along, Levi still felt like he was performing sutures with a blindfold on.  
  
"Good, you showed up," The woman who spoke was petite, grumpy, and a few inches shorter than him. She was riding a motorcycle, and had just removed her helmet off before she spoke.  
  
Levi turned off the engines and stepped out of his car after he had parked, securing it once he slung his backpack to his shoulder. That silvery gray hair and sassy attitude only belonged to someone, and that was Rico Brzenska.  
  
"Killing season starts today," Rico droned out with a hint of annoyance, pocketing her keys once her motorcycle's engine died down and had been parked. She slung her leg back, unmounting from her bike, before falling in-step with Levi as they made their way to the entrance of the hospital.  
  
"I heard," Levi replied, sparing her a glance. "Are you ready to get flocked around by interns?"  
  
Rico gave him a smirk. "Are _you_?"  
  
Levi had to feel sorry for the interns that was about to be assigned to her. Then again, he really didn't feel sorry for Rico when she was his intern and he was her resident. Rico was brutal, straightforward and unforgiving. She had a reputation for being tough, even earning a little 'pet name' from some that she had happily adapted later on.  
  
Once they were timed in, they both went straight to the staff locker rooms, changing into the green scrubs that identified the ER doctors. While Levi was neatly folding his clothes, the door swung open, revealing a bald man with a very wrinkled forehead and piercing gray eyes.  
  
"Doctor Brzenska," Keith Shadis called out, stepping inside the locker room and toward the gray-haired woman, "Here's your list of interns. They're not many this year, but you know how it goes." He shrugged and handed her a piece of paper right after Rico finished putting on her white coat.  
  
The woman gazed over it with a frown, narrowing her eyes at the Chief suspiciously. "You could have written these down on a Post-it and this 'list' of yours still won't look like one. Why am I only getting _two_?"  
  
Shadis gave her a look that would have scared off any intern off their pants, but Rico didn't mind, unaffected and used to her Chief's intimidating nature. "So when the surgeons start spewing out their failed interns into _our_ department, you can scare them into leaving this goddamned hospital for good. Or into psych, I don't give a shit."  
  
Rico laughed, and stuffed her stethoscope in one of her coat pockets. "Have a nice day, Chief." She managed between snorts as she sauntered off and out of the locker room.  
  
Levi rolled the sleeves of his inner shirt to his elbows, eyeing Shadis just as Rico left. "Why did you text me last night?"  
  
Chief Shadis turned to look at the shorter man, clasping his hands to his back. "Zackly is demanding proper work etiquette."  
  
"Meaning?" After sticking a pen and a penlight into the breast pocket of his scrubs, he reached out for his lab coat, wearing it with two quick moves.  
  
" _Meaning_ ," Shadis repeated, like he was talking to a child, "We have to be friendly to the butchers. He said, and I quote, 'the tension between your department and the surgeon's is palpable from a mile away', unquote."  
  
Levi scoffed as he fastened his pager on the hem of his pants, pinning his I.D on the pocket of his coat. "Zackly is asking for a miracle."  
  
"I know you and Dawk are on bad terms," Levi scoffs again at this, "But I'm not asking you to talk to him like he's respectable. Just shut up and don't make sarcastic comments before his brain can even process what you just said."  
  
Levi rested his hands on the sides of his hips, shaking his head as he raised his eyebrows at his superior, "Aren't you supposed to be setting an example for me to follow?"  
  
"I _am_ setting an example," Shadis widened his eyes at Levi as if to prove his point. "See what I did? I'm being passive aggressive. Try doing that next time."  
  
"I can try," Levi slipped his phone into one of his pockets, "But I can't promise anything."  
  
Shadis gave out a great sigh, one hand rubbing the little ridges on his forehead. "Then at least greet the new neurosurgeon."  
  
"Shadis, look at me," The Chief did as Levi told, exhaling sharply, clearly exasperated. "Do I look like I fucking care if they got a new brain butcher?"  
  
"You can try," Shadis pointed out.  
  
"I said," Levi walked past him heading to the door, opening it, finishing his sentence before he exited, "I can't promise anything."

 

~

  
  
Never go to hospitals in July - that's how the saying goes. The influx of new doctors is always a good sight for the medical director, but not as much for the patients, because these 'healers' would probably end up killing them instead of saving lives.  
  
"-better not be asleep when I'm awake. You don't get to complain, you don't get to whine, and most importantly, you don't question the orders I give you. And if I hear you _mispronounce_ my name again Bossard, I will make sure you bite your tongue so hard it'll fall off of your mouth."  
  
Auruo Bossard stuttered a quick 'yes ma'am' and briefly bit his tongue in the middle of saying it. He was a thin, tall lad, with a mop of dirty blond hair and a face filled with soft lines despite his age. He followed the much shorter woman - his resident - with quick steps, trying to match his superior's pace.  
  
He and his co-intern, Petra Ral, stopped a few steps away from Doctor Brzenska when they arrived at the nurse's station, little notebook and pen in hand, ready to start scribbling whenever their resident chooses to speak. The silver-haired doctor leaned against the concrete counter and called out the attention of the nurse behind the monitor.  
  
"Mornin', Doc Rico," The one who spoke was a red-headed woman in two, low-positioned pigtails. She couldn't have been no older than either Auruo and Petra, but her familiarity with the irritable resident proved much of just how long she had been working in St. Rose.  
  
"Izzy," Brzenska nodded in recognition, adjusting her glasses a bit as she took some charts at the side of the counter. "Any interesting cases I should know of?"  
  
"Nah," The nurse, who was referred to as 'Izzy', answered nonchalantly. "None that's exciting." She then shifted her attention to the two interns beside the resident, smiling at them a little brighter. "You only have two?"  
  
Rico hummed in affirmation, shifting through the cases lightly and segregating them properly.  
  
"Hi," Isabel was still smiling at the two when she spoke, "I'm Isabel Magnolia. Guess we'll be working together from now on?"  
  
Auruo nodded at her and gave her half a smile. "Auruo Bossard. Nice to meet you."  
  
The petite, pretty ginger-haired woman extended her arm and shook Izzy's hand firmly. "Petra Ral. Its a pleasure."  
  
Izzy smiled wider after she shook Petra's hand. "The pleasure is all mine, Doctors."  
  
"How many?" Another doctor came into view, rushing toward the nurse's station and settling right beside Brzenska (who was done segregating her cases).  
  
"Just one incoming case. They phoned just a minute ago. Hit and Run... She's in a pretty bad condition." Isabel reported simply, handing a clipboard to the raven-haired physician where more details have been jotted down.  
  
"You're with the trauma team today?" Rico spoke up and glanced at her side, one hand on her hip and the other, settled beside the charts.  
  
"When am I _not_ in the trauma team?" Levi rolled his eyes irritably and reviewed the details on the paper. "Wood fucking called in sick today, so there's just me and Farlan in it. I really should have taken today off as well."  
  
"I can give you a hand," Rico offered and thumbed to her back. "Plenty of hands."  
  
Levi leaned sideways to take a good look at the interns behind Rico, before returning his attention to the resident. "No. I just need yours. You're on the trauma team for today, but they get to come only for this case."  
  
Brzenska didn't complain at that and turned back to her interns. "You heard the Attending. Once we're done with this case, we'll get to these." She tapped the seven charts pilled up on the counter.  
  
Ral and Bossard nodded promptly, before a sound of a siren came blaring in, faint at first, but became progressively loud as the second ticked. "Call in a surgeon down here," Levi ordered quickly to Izzy, and then jogged to the ER entrance, with Rico following close behind. Petra and Auruo tailed them closely, but kept to the side to let their seniors do their work.  
  
It was almost hypnotizing, but in a more adrenaline-fueled way. The reports the paramedic was delivering in quick successions sounded like a mantra, and the click-clack of the gurney once it was off the ambulance felt electrifying. The woman in the gurney looked as bad as the reports say, and for a moment, Petra and Auruo couldn't move at the sight of her.  
  
" _Move_ , interns!" Rico barked at them as she, Doctor Ackerman, and the nurse Farlan Church pushed the gurney inside the ER and into one of the trauma rooms. It was all a blur - the short attending physician was busy snapping orders at both Brzenska and the nurse, and both obeyed wordlessly, now gloved hands moving fast and accurately around the rapidly dying patient. In a second the woman flat-lined, and out came the defibrillators, with Doctor Ackerman announcing 'clear' and cursing every few seconds, ordering increasing charges until the monitors showed spikes of heartbeat and increasing pulse rate and blood pressure.  
  
All of it happened in under five minutes, but to Auruo and Petra, it felt longer. In another blink of an eye, the surgeons arrived, taking the patient away and transferring her to their department to get her operated, and with that, it ended, just like a dream.  
  
Auruo took a sideways glance at Petra, and Petra did as well, looking up at the taller man.  
  
Both agreed silently that it was certainly one of the most exciting five minutes of their lives.

  
~

  
A wiggling clubhouse sandwich - that's what greeted him in the midst of reviewing who among his patients for today are going to be discharged. Levi clicked his pen and turned to his side, leaning against the counter of the nurse's station.  
  
"Lunch?" Hange wiggled the sandwich again with a smile. Levi glanced at his watch - its already three hours past lunch time. In two hours, his shift would end.  
  
"Izzy," He called out and the red-head tore her attention away from the computer, "I'm taking a break. Fifteen minutes. Tell Doctor Ral to discharge these patients." He handed her over the charts, and the nurse nodded, taking them from him.  
  
"Only fifteen minutes?" Zoe stopped wiggling the packaged bread by now, and Isabel gave out a laugh. "I have to tell you something very interesting, you know?"  
  
"You better start speaking then." Levi grabbed Hange by the arm, pulling her away with quick steps before the pathologist could wink at Isabel.  
  
"I heard about Director Zackly's new rule between the E.D and the Surgical Department," She began, tossing him the sandwich she bought. Levi caught it in midair, and started unwrapping it.  
  
"Is that what you're gonna tell me?" Levi shot her a look just when they were out of the Emergency Room.  
  
"He said you guys should be friendlier to each other," Zoe hooked her arm around Levi's free one and pulled him along, leading him to the cafeteria down the hall, to the right.  
  
"Let's not talk about that," Levi took a bite out of the sandwich, chewing with a small frown on his face.  
  
She paused for a bit when they passed along a vending machine, and slipped a few coins in so she could buy a bottle of Gatorade. "Doctor Shadis visited me earlier. He told me to convince you about being passive aggressive about your issues with the surgeons, and, he also wanted me to convince you to say hello to the the new neurosurgeon."  
  
"So? Did he convince you to?" Levi twisted the cap of the drink when the brunette handed it over to him.  
  
"Yes, and no." Zoe pulled him along again, pushing past the doors leading into the cafeteria and guided him to the spot at the very corner of the room. "I won't convince you to be nice to the surgeons. Dawk and his possy are assholes, everyone knows that." She pointed out, plopping one one of the seats.  
  
Levi snorted before taking a few gulps of the sports drink, settling nicely on one of the chairs opposite Hange. "Yes, exactly."  
  
"But, I also happened to have met the neurosurgeon this morning." Zoe sat back, crossing her arms while she watched him eat. "The new one. And I must say it was a very interesting meeting."  
  
Levi was done with his first sandwich, and took a bite of the second one. "Really."  
  
" _Really_." Zoe nodded, and rested her elbows on the table, "He's nice. His name is Erwin Smith. Tall, a little over six feet. Blond. Blue eyes. Well-built. Sharp cheekbones. Handsome."  
  
Levi stopped chewing for a moment, gazing over Zoe like she was describing something disgusting. "Are you ruining my appetite on purpose?" He said right after he swallowed.  
  
"No." The pathologist leaned a bit closer, smiling a little. "I was expecting a different reaction."  
  
"I don't get any other feelings except absolute disgust when it comes to surgeons." Levi rolled his eyes and took another few gulps of Gatorade.  
  
"I think you should meet Doctor Smith." Hange was smiling wider now. "I insist on it."  
  
With a scoff, Levi rested the plastic bottle down, now only a quarter full. "Didn't you hear what I just said?"  
  
"Your opinion will soon change when you meet him." The brunette guaranteed with a grin.  
  
Levi was about to reprimand her but caught that subtle expression of mischievousness in her face - and it wasn't often that Hange had that kind of glint in her personality. "Shitty-glasses," He referred to her in the old nickname, half-mocking and half-sarcastic, eyes narrowed at her, critical, for a moment, knowing she was up to something. And then-  
  
"You _didn't_ just-" In an instant, he had it all figured out. Hange caught on his expression, and burst out chuckling for a bit.  
  
"No, _no_! You got it wrong, I wasn't trying to pair you up - _oh god_ \- but, well, Doctor Smith is kind of hot, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted a piece of that but - Levi! _Wait_! I swear I'm innocent!"  
  
But Levi was already walking away. Many times, the woman he considered his best mate had searched suitable _mates_ for him well after his divorce - and he knew it was done in good will, but damn, the people she sometimes matched him up with...  
  
Zoe Hange was still professing her innocence throughout the cafeteria and well into the hallway back to the ER when she finally caught Levi's arm, her grip well enough to stop him. "Please, listen to me." She muttered in a more serious tone, pulling him to the side to they wouldn't obstruct the flow of people rushing in and out of the Emergency Room, "I'm asking you to meet Doctor Smith not because I want to pair you up with him. I want you to meet him out of moral obligation. Set your hatred aside and just talk to him. Say something. You need to."  
  
It had been a long time since he heard Hange talk like this - like a mother, like a guardian telling a child the difference between what's right or what's wrong. Confusing it was, truly... Was it just reason, speaking through her voice? Since his very first year as an intern, he had despised surgeons to the core, damning all of them, utterly and completely biased. He knew it was wrong - even in a crate full of bad apples, there's bound to be one or two not yet infected with the rot.  
  
"Fine." He said, finally. Hange smiled almost immediately. "But, only a few words, and that's it. That's as far as my 'moral obligations' go."  
  
The brunette looked like she could dip down and kiss him in her joy. "Wonderful! See you later, then!" Then she turned, and practically skipped back to the laboratory just across the hall.

~

  
Once, he had loved all of this.  
  
The entire west wing of the third floor of St. Rose Hospital houses nothing but Operating Rooms and Recovery Rooms. Five years ago, this was his home. This was the place he would have killed to be in. To Levi, nothing was more exulting than to be in an O.R. Now, he barely, if ever, even does as much as speak of the place.  
  
Now, though, in this fine evening of July, he stands affixed against a wall as he stared straight down O.R 3 - one of two rooms that has an observation gallery for the more complicated surgeries done to teach the new doctors accepted into the hospital's residency program. Below, in the simplest of terms, a brain surgery was being conducted by no other than the very man his friend has persuaded him to meet.  
  
Erwin Smith is clad in midnight blue scrubs and bathed in white, fluorescent light as he performed his work meticulously. Levi could not make out his face, as most of it was covered by a surgical mask, but he sure could trace the outlines of his facial structure - Hange was right, the son of a bitch could kick Angelina Jolie right out with those cheekbones.  
  
"Done. Close up for me, please." What came out was a deep, yet calm voice when he announced his work was finished. The surgical interns sitting to his right yelled out a woop, having seen perhaps the first of their many chances of seeing surgery as complicated as that. Levi stepped out of the gallery, and moved to the O.R's entrance, waiting by the side, wanting nothing to get this over with. Almost all of the surgical staff knew him, and he very well did not want to interact with any of the people in this side of the hospital.  
  
It wasn't long when Smith exited the Operating Room. It wasn't long too, when Levi concluded that doing this was a bad idea.  
  
Erwin Smith is tall, broad-shouldered, blond and blue-eyed. He's strikingly handsome and unusually charming, the type that could convince you to buy those annoyingly useless contraptions advertised on TV What was especially interesting about him though, was the distinct bruise on his right cheek.  
  
Levi froze still, shocked, for a moment. What were the chances that the newly-hired neurosurgeon he was about to say hello to also happened to be the very stranger he had punched yesterday?  
  
Coincidences rarely happen, and if they do, they happen for a reason - right now, all of it is pointing at Hange. Was this her hidden intention? Levi never really blatantly described him to her, so she must haven't had realized... Or did she?  
  
He was walking away just as the blond in question has turned to his general direction. Levi deduced he must have seen him, because the moment he stepped out of there, there were a patter of steps following close behind. Closing in too, and fast.  
  
" _Wait_ -" Levi didn't even bat an eyelash at the call when he sharply turned to the stairs and jogged quickly down, bursting into the second floor hallway and right into a linen closet. He'll never suspect that he ducked in here.  
  
"I can see you, you know."  
  
...Apparently, he did.  
  
Erwin regarded him with a look of pure amusement when he stepped into the small room, closing it behind him so Levi could not escape. He leaned against the door, crossing his arms, his muscles tightening a bit because of the action.  
  
"Why are you here?" Even with the question, Levi had an inkling Erwin already knew the answer. Any medical staff would question a stranger walking freely in the O.R wing - even a patient can get questioned.  
  
"I _work_ here." Levi responded with nonchalance, as if he hadn't been trying to get away just minutes ago.  
  
"Ah..." He had the gall to smile, the bastard, "So you're a medical practitioner." The blond followed up, nodding slowly, like he was only beginning to piece things out. "And yet, yesterday... You left me on the ground with a bleeding nose right after you punched me."  
  
"I'm sure you can handle a simple nosebleed," Levi countered easily, "Doctor Smith."  
  
Erwin let out a breathy chuckle. "Oh, that's how it is, now? With the titles and all?" He shook his head, his grin dissolving into a simple smile. "So what should I address you from now on?"  
  
"I'm Doctor Ackerman." The shorter of the two replied. Now that it had been pointed out, Levi was a bit uncomfortable with the height difference. Erwin didn't appear to be as tall as this when he was kneeling on the ground with a bleeding nose.  
  
"Why did you punch me?" He asked bluntly, though with genuine curiosity.  
  
"Why are you blocking the doorway?" Levi countered, motioning over the area behind the neurosurgeon.  
  
"I'm the one asking questions here." Erwin leaned a little closer, making the raven step back instinctively.  
  
"I can sue you for illegal detention." Was his next rebuttal, crossing his arms like the blond, preserving what's left of his personal space. "That, and harrassment."  
  
" _Harassment_?" Erwin almost snorted, "I'm the one who has been harassed here!"  
  
"You're the one blocking the door."  
  
"You punched me on the face." With a laugh - that was how Erwin won and ended the argument. Levi was not about to tell him he mistook him for a molester. Not in a very cramped room.  
  
"Alright, how about this," The taller of the two backed away, and gave Levi a smile that spoke nothing of his intentions. "There's a small pub, not far from that playground you assaulted me in. Its called Three Marias. Meet me there at seven on Friday, then we'll talk if its worth suing each other in court."  
  
"I'm not free on Friday." Levi immediately snapped, narrowing his eyes at the other man.  
  
Erwin said nothing for a minute, simply looking calmly back into Levi's eyes, before smiling again, and in that moment, Levi knew Erwin figured out that he was lying. "Oh, I don't think so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if anybody's confused:
> 
> An attending physician is the one managing the cases. He decides how and what treatment is given, he makes the definitive diagnosis and stuff. An attending has completed both residency (i.e: for emergency medicine, its 3 or 4 years, and for surgeons, its 5 years) and fellowship (meaning a specialty; i.e: critical-care, pediatric emergency medicine, neurosurgery etc.) programs.
> 
> A resident is a doctor which is still in the residency program. Rico is a chief resident, meaning she's on the final year of her residency and will soon be moving into a fellowship program to get a specialty. Chief residents manages junior residents and interns.
> 
> Interns or first year residents are doctors, who are obviously, in their first year of residency. They had passed the licensing exams and are M.Ds by title, and they also have completed a post-graduate one year internship (which is a bit confusing, because even though they have finished internship, they're still called interns even in residency, but I think its just an old habit carried on).
> 
> Alright.  
> I'll be updating very slowly, because I have my own licensure exams coming up, and I need to study so apologies for that.
> 
> I'll try to update every two weeks, but no promises!

**Author's Note:**

> Drew a floor plan in case you guys are confused at the set up of Levi's apartment. But hey, don't expect a nice drawing, (Its pretty crappy tbh hahahaha I don't know shit about designing homes ok let's just pretend its all symmetrical and shit) 
> 
> Here it is -->  
> https://31.media.tumblr.com/9528deb5fb7b1ae417a818b35b114707/tumblr_n7o7ofy4Zp1scd02wo1_500.jpg


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